Dozens of people have been evacuated from their homes after a bridge collapsed in Shropshire, severing a gas main.
The River Corve, swollen by torrential rain, washed away a 40-foot section of a main road leading into Ludlow at around 3am this morning.
Police said a gas main carried in the bridge was broken, and falling street lights caused a number of minor explosions.
No-one was injured but 20 nearby homes were evacuated while gas and electrical engineers made the area safe, with residents sheltering in a nearby leisure centre.
A large cordon has been set up around the bridge and its approach roads, and more than a dozen officers from West Mercia Police remain at the scene.
A spokeswoman for the force said: "The affected road is one of the main routes into Ludlow from the bypass.
"Approach roads have been closed and diversions are in place, but we would urge people to avoid the area if they possibly can."
Floodwaters in the River Corve are now beginning to subside, but engineers are inspecting another bridge in the town which they believe may have been damaged.
In nearby Tenbury Wells, around 20 people were forced to leave their homes when the River Teme, which the Rover Corve flows into, burst its banks.
A severe flood warning remains in place along the Teme from Ludlow to Worcester.
